Fatal Fire: Traveler
by t.j.guard
Summary: Bae continues his quest to break the Ring around Storybrooke, which leads him first to travel to Kansas, and then to race an escaped witch from the Enchanted Forest back to the real world-to Maine.
1. Trouble in Paradise

Fatal Fire: Traveler

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time, or Wizard of Oz, for that matter.  
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Trouble in Paradise

Bae walked into the diner and sat next to August at the bar. "Anything?" he asked.

"Nope," the puppet replied. "Same old same old."

"The harbor's still our only way out, then."

"And knowing Regina, she probably populated that part of the Atlantic with sea monsters and pirates."

"Sounds like fun."

August sipped his drink. "You have no idea." Bae turned on the stool to face the door, and he leaned back. The small talk the people in the diner were engaging in had little to no bearing on anything, which Bae actually found quite soothing. "Then there's the matter of how Regina will get us back," August said.

"What's that mean?"

"She's not letting us go without a fight."

"So we fight back."

"You think you can use magic well enough?"

"I've done pretty well so far."

"In life-threatening situations, sure, but what about in a place like this?" Bae glanced at August's drink, conjured a piece of ice, and dropped it in. August took a sip, blinked, and said, "Oh, thanks."

"Told you I've been doing well."

August took another sip. "Alright, you win this round."

Bae looked back at the front door just as Hook, in his now-usual black coat, entered. The captain took a seat next to Bae and ordered the strongest drink the establishment provided. "Rough night?" Bae asked.

Hook threw back a shot. "You have no idea."

"I don't know what to say to that, really, I don't."

"I don't want you to say anything."

"Alright."

"At least he can rest now."

"That's always good." Bae suddenly thought of Zoso and his father. His father lived forever now, but Zoso, he figured, had been resting in peace for just as long, plus or minus a few decades.

"Any word on if there's sea monsters out there?" August asked.

"No," the captain replied, "but I don't want to try it."

"Makes three of us, then," Bae said. Hook smirked and ordered another round.

OUAT

The commander forced herself to study her reflection as she tied her hair back, as she did every morning. She let the strands that were her bangs hang where they were, as they had ever since she left Neverland to join Hook and let him train her further. A week on the front lines of an Ogre War could only go so far.

Finally, she turned away. For reasons she had yet to figure out, mirrors made her nervous. But when she turned her back, a shiver raced up her spine. She wheeled back around, reaching for her sword. She drew it and pointed it at the mirror. Purple smoke filled the glass, and a woman appeared out of it. The commander lunged toward the woman, but she disappeared before she even reached the mirror. The commander stopped. The woman stepped out from behind the mirror. "You must be the witch we keep locked up, with good reason," the commander said, leveling her sword on the witch.

"I have a name you know," she replied. "It's Cora."

She flicked her wrist, and the sword flew out of the commander's hand to clatter to the floor on the other side of the room. Then the commander found herself magically pinned to the wall and gasping for air. "What...are you...doing?"

"Replacing you."


	2. Morraine

Morraine

The more the commander needed air, the more she started to panic, and the more she started to panic, the more she noticed what was around her. "Tell me one thing, though, before I kill you," Cora said, stepping forward. "What's your name?"

"My name," the commander rasped, "is none of your business." She had reached an axe and pulled it off the wall. The force on her neck tightened it's hold. Still, she managed to take a deep breath and muster the energy needed to throw the axe at Cora. Cora ducked and dropped the commander, who made her way around the witch, picked up the axe, and approached her. "Besides," she said through her heavy breathing, "I have several."

"I want the one you've used the longest, the closest to the truth."

"That's the one I'm least likely to give you." Cora moved to cast another spell on the commander, who swung the axe at her. She ducked and stumbled back. "Now, I suggest you go back to the hell hole you came from and stay there."

"Or you'll what?"

"Hunt you down."

Cora scoffed. "You wouldn't. Not like you can keep me there, anyway. You probably can't even keep me here." She flicked her wrist at the commander, who responded with yet another swing of the axe. It grazed the palm of her hand deep enough to leave a thin trail of blood. "This isn't over," Cora growled, and on that note, she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

The commander strapped the axe to her back, sheathed the sword, and packed some bread and cheese the kitchen had sent up to her room into a bundle. She walked over to the window and took the leap almost twenty feet to the ground below with a solid landing, and then she walked out through the old servants' entrance of the castle and into the world beyond.

OUAT

Bae walked down to the pier after leaving Hook and August at Granny's Diner. He stood at the edge of the dock, thinking about sea monsters, a topic that had come up in conversation but which he was unsure about, since he hadn't felt anything pertaining to them. He pushed his hands into his pockets and released a breath. The waters were calm, but he thought he heard something. Something like...ticking.

Maybe there was some credence to the sea monsters theory after all.

OUAT

While she walked, the commander lapsed into years-old habit of reflecting.

OUAT

She didn't remember much between making the deal with Rumpelstiltskin and being dubbed Wendy by her kidnapper, a ten-year-old ginger boy that had a perpetual wild look to him. The boy introduced himself as Peter Pan, gave her a name that he thought suited her, and told her that she wouldn't ever grow up here, in this place called Neverland.

Everything after that, she remembered clearly. Tinker Bell had been her sole friend, everyone else being completely seduced by the eternal child, and she had told her about Hook. At the first available opportunity, "Wendy" fled Hangman's tree for the shore. From there, it was a matter of desperation and pixie dust to get her airborne, and her freedom was enough of a happy thought to keep her aloft until she reached the small gallion surrounded for miles by open sea.

She hadn't returned to Neverland since, and she very rarely looked back.

OUAT

Baelfire walked into his room and removed the indicator from his pocket. He'd been carrying it around ever since he found out it was his link to Morraine, and he finally decided it was high time to figure out how it worked. He sat on the bed and let the crystal ball float in front of him. The crystal began to glow, just as it had at the well. "Okay, so, maybe magic's the key," he told himself. "Can you find Morraine?" he asked the ball. The glow intensified, and then a familiar but older face appeared within it, framed by that same mouse brown hair. Her bangs were tied off into strands with steel beads, and the rest of her hair she seemed to have let down, because it looked like it was used to being tied back.

"Baelfire," she said.

"Morraine?"

"The same."

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Oh, no. You're fine. I'm just resting."

"Where are you?"

"The remains of the Enchanted Forest. In the Frontlands, to be exact. I think you'll recognize the place."

"I'm sure I will, if I can get there."

"Why can't you?"

"The Ring that surrounds the town erases our memories of the Enchanted Forest if we cross it. The only way out that we know of is through the harbor, and if we do that, there's the risk of meeting sea monsters, possibly a ticking crocodile, and a variety of related beasts. And that's not even accounting for magical means of leaving Storybrooke."

"Sounds like fun."

"That's what I said."

"So you're looking for a way out that doesn't involve that risk."

"Or taking that risk multiple times. Ships can only hold so many people."

"Is there someone you know there, a portal jumper?"

"I believe a friend of mine here mentioned someone called Jefferson, but I'll have to ask him about it."

"Do you think it'll work?"

"I'll have to try."

"Good luck."

"Thanks." Bae plucked the indicator from the air. It ceased to glow, and he returned it to his pocket.


	3. Jefferson

Jefferson

Jefferson opened the door and asked, "Who're you?"

"Call me Bae," Bae replied. He glanced at Grace and gave a small smile. "You're Jefferson, I assume?"

"How'd you know?"

"I heard about you."

"What've you heard?"

"That you had a portal and it can take people places."

"Well, had is correct."

"Portal busted?"

"Yep." Jefferson allowed Bae entry, and while Grace ran off to return to whatever she was doing, he led his guest to a back room. From a box, he removed a flattened, tattered, singed hat. Bae gave a low, awed whistle. "Yeah, no kidding. And unless you're some kind of miracle man, I don't think you can fix it, either."

"Have you been trying, if I may ask?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

"If you haven't been trying, then you really don't know if this can be fixed. If you have tried, then we really are stuck, but you'll know you put the effort in and you feel better inside."

"You are really, really weird."

"How about you answer my question, then we'll talk, okay?"

"What makes you think I would?"

"Why don't you want to? Afraid I won't like your answer?"

"I have no reason to be afraid of you."

"But you're not saying anything."

"Because this is my business."

"That may be, but you're stuck here just as much as everyone else, and if you can fix that hat, it may be our way out."

"Why not stay here, when I can actually have a life with my daughter?"

"Sooner or later I'm sure you'll be itching to leave. What will you do then?"

"Who says I'll wanna leave? Speaking of, how about you go? Door's right over there."

"Alright. I know when a battle's lost." Bae walked out of Jefferson's front door. He called August and said, "Not him."

"That means we have to find someone who will help us," August replied.

"Can we leave?"

"We could enter with no problem, so I think so."

"And the nearest safe house for portal jumpers is a farm house in Kansas, yes?"

"That's what I heard."

"Think the operator will help us?"

"It's her job."

"Take it you know her?"

"Pretty well."

"Well, guess we better pack up for a few days' journey."

"A few hours."

"What?"

"There's a way she showed me. It'll really shorten the trip."

"Then you drive."

"You're sure about this?"

"They're stuck in a town in upstate Maine, a fate I wouldn't even wish on my worst mortal enemy, and we have no other options. Of course I'm sure."

"I'll meet you at the bed and breakfast, then. In twenty?"

"As if we can keep track of time."

August chuckled. "Yeah."

"See you then."

"You got it." Bae hung up and made his way to his father's home.


	4. Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

"Where are you going?" Rumpelstiltskin asked from the doorway. Bae was throwing his few possessions rather haphazardly into his duffel bag. Only with the indicator was he careful, immersing it dead center in his stuff to best ensure its safety.

"I'm gonna spend a little time in Kansas," Bae replied.

"What do you need in Kansas?"

"There's a friend of August's there. She might be able to help us with our little Ring problem without taking the risk of the sea multiple times."

"Bae, you need to remember...Regina won't let that happen."

"What's she gonna do about it?" Bae asked, facing his father.

"Quite honestly, I have no idea."

"Well, we have to try, otherwise we're right back to where we started: cursed. And I for one won't let that happen." Bae zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "That's why I'm going to Kansas."

"Will you come back?"

"Of course I will. You think I'm going to abandon you to unknown forces or something like that?"

"That...that sounds like what I did."

"Papa..." Bae embraced Rumpelstiltskin. Rumpelstiltskin breathed into his son's shoulder and then shifted the position of his head.

"Be careful, my boy," he whispered. "My beautiful boy."

"I will, Papa. I'll come back."

"I wish you the best and nothing less. That simply won't do."

Bae smiled. "Thanks, Papa." He pulled away. "I better go. It's almost time for me to meet August."

"Is he going with you?"

"Yeah."

"Good luck."

"Thanks." With a smile, Bae walked out onto the street.

OUAT

August navigated the bike through a world Bae had never seen. It looked like everything he was familiar with disappeared in a blink each time it appeared, and the road they were traveling on was made of yellow bricks. Even more, their surroundings looked like a mostly clear tunnel with a slight silver-grey tint to it. "What is this?" Bae asked.

"It's a trod," August replied. "Coolest shortcut ever."

"And the yellow brick road?"

"Our path to Kansas. No one knows who laid it, but she sees 'em everywhere she needs to go, and they lead people like us to her place. She follows 'em without fail, too, except in Oz, where damn near all the roads from Munchkinland to the Emerald City are made of yellow bricks."

"So does she have a map of Oz?"

"Actually yes."

"Wow. And how's Toto?"

"Just fine, thank you for asking."

"Can he still fit into a picnic basket?"

August laughed. "Pretty damn big picnic basket."

"So he's fat?"

"No, just big. You'll see when we get there."

"Oookay."

August turned a corner into another trod. Bae fell silent, puzzling a bit over the mystery that was Toto.

OUAT

They emerged from the tunnel, and Bae looked over his shoulder to see what he could only describe as a vortex pinching in on itself and zapping into nonexistence. He returned his eye to their path. The yellow brick road was still there, but it looked like it stretched into nothingness. "Where's this friend of yours?" Bae asked.

"Just hold tight," August replied.

Bae felt yet another shift in the air, and a farm house appeared out of nowhere. "What is it with this world and magic?"

"Magic's unpredictable." August stopped the bike a few feet from the door. Something tackled them both and toppled the motorcycle. Bae cried out and struggled against the panting, slobbering creature that was only called off when a woman's voice called, "Toto, down."

Bae stared up at the beast of a dog that lay at the feet of a brown-haired, brown-eyed, harsh-featured woman in jeans, a sky-blue tank top, and a tan jacket. "That's Toto?" he asked.

"Yep," August replied, helping Bae to his feet.

"Bad boy," the woman said, giving August a once over.

"I'm working on it."

She nodded and asked, "What're you two doing here? Got portal jumping trouble?"

"More like, barrier trouble."

"Barrier spell or Ring?"

"Ring," Bae said.

"In that case, come in." August, Bae, and Toto followed the woman into the farm house.


	5. Into the Enchanted Forest

Into the Enchanted Forest

D offered coffe, which the stranger accompanying August refused, and she enquired after his name. "Bae," he said.

"Short for anything?"

"Depends on who you ask."

She nodded. "You just call me D. Anything else will get you punched or bitten."

"By your..."

"Hell hound. Best guard dogs on either side, and really affectionate if they take a liking to you."

"And if they don't?"

"Better run, if you can. If they catch you, pray. You'll meet your maker real soon." Bae nodded. "So, you guys have Ring trouble. I want the details as specifically as possible, as succinctly as possible."

"Storybrooke, Maine," August said.

"But that curse is broken."

"The Ring's still there, and if they cross it, they lose their memories of there forever," Bae said.

"There, you mean, the other side?"

"Yeah."

"So you're here because you escaped the curse, obviously, and you think I can help you guys break the Ring."

"Exactly," August said.

"Well, I'll have to case it first, make my own assessment, but..."

"What?" Bae asked.

"I wasn't expecting you to take the trods."

"It was the shortest way," August said.

"I know that, but the network...there's interference from there."

"What kind of interference?"

D released a heavy breath. "I think it's her. I think she's trying to cross into this world, but I don't know why, and we can't risk using the network because if we do, we could leave an open trod somewhere and she'll cross over and God knows what'll go down after that."

"Well, our other option involves repeated trips through potentially-monster-infested seas," Bae said. "We're trying to get all those people out, and one of them's a portal jumper."

"Who?"

"Name's Jefferson. He had a magic hat that could go from here to there or anywhere else."

"Take it it's busted and now this is your only safe option."

"Yes."

"And if he crosses, memory goes poof?"

"Yes."

"And we also have two people trapped on the other side," August said. "They'll need a way back here."

"She's on that side," D snapped. She took a breath.

"Is there a way to trap her in the network?" Bae asked. "Close our doors behind us?"

"Manually shut us into the trod system, risking never getting out or getting out at the wrong place, to keep both worlds safer from unimagineable evil? Well...yeah, I think I can do that. Let me get my bike, and meet me out front in five."

OUAT

Toto hopped into D's sidecar, and she started the bike. August and Bae were already waiting for her. "Let's go," she said. "The trod'll open on the road. Just follow it." August nodded, and they rode off. She followed, waited until they passed into the system, and waved a hand behind her. The trod closed, and D immediately sensed a change in air pressure. She coughed. "Another reason I don't do this very much," she said, and she cleared her throat.

Toto barked and leapt out of the sidecar, destabilizing D's entire bike. She tumbled to the road and slid for a few feet. August and Bae stopped twenty feet ahead of her. "Go," she yelled. "Go. I'll find my own way. I know this place. Just go." She stood. "Toto?" she called. "Toto?"

August lowered the kickstand, and he and Bae dismounted. The road beneath them started to crack, shaking them both. "Stay behind me," August said. They eased their way toward D.

"I told you to go," she yelled.

"We can't," Bae said.

"We're not leaving without you," August added.

"Then it looks like you're not going anywhere." All three of them turned toward the speaker.

OUAT

Bae looked at August and whispered, "This is one of the women from the book, isn't it?" August nodded, his eyes fixed on the black-clad, brown-haired woman standing on the road, which continued to crack under their feet.

The woman looked over their shoulders at D, frantically trying to find a way out of there. "Ah, Dorothy," the woman said.

"They know each other?"

"Met in Oz, I think she said," August replied.

"Okay, that's enough chatter," D said, pulling Bae and August behind her. "Toto, this isn't funny." The hell hound poked his head out from a branching tunnel. Another crack ran through the road. The hound spotted the woman and pounced. The woman turned and sent the dog flying head over tail before sliding on the bricks, leaving scratch marks wherever he could. "That's it, bitch. Your ass is mine," D yelled, charging her and grabbing her by the collar and punching her twice, each hard enough to knock her head back to dangerous angles. D dropped the Witch and stomped on her chest before running over to Toto. August and Bae followed her.

D looked up at them and tilted her head down a trod a turn in the brick road indicated. "We have to leave, now," she said. Toto hopped up like the hit he had taken was nothing. The three followed as well as the chinks in the road could allow them. Another shockwave rocked the trod. "Uh-oh," she said.

"What?" Bae asked.

"We're about to fall out." She pulled them into a huddle around Toto so tight that all of them were in close contact. The yellow brick road gave way beneath them.

OUAT

Emma started and moved backward when she saw a blue-ish light appeared in the sky and three people and a giant dog fell out of it. They dropped to the ground in front of Mulan, Aurora, Emma, and Snow White, and upon closer inspection, Emma realized that it was two people and a wooden puppet. "August? You're alive?" Emma asked.

"Hey, magic's back," August replied with a haphazard shrug.

"What are you doing here?" Mulan asked, approaching them. The dog, which reached up to her waist when it stood on all fours, snarled at her. The woman put her hand on the dog's shoulder. It continued to glare.

"We were on our way to somewhere else," the woman said.

"Where?"

"Storybrooke."

"You were going to Storybrooke?" Emma asked. "How?"

"Trods."

"What?"

"They're like magical subway tunnels."

"Can they get us back home?"

"If I can find one here. Haven't been in a long time, though."

"Who are you?" Mulan snapped.

"Name's D. The hell hound's Toto. Be careful around him."

"I will," she said, eyeing the dog.

"Where're you headed?"

"Wherever we can find ourselves a portal," Emma said.

"I can see them."

"Your fellow travelers?"

"We have our own strengths," August said. "Not to...toot our own horns or anything."

"You can see portals, so you can find a trod thing that'll get these two home?" Emma asked D.

"Yep," D said.

Emma nodded to Mulan, and she responded in kind. "Okay, you can come."

"Thank you."

"But be warned. There are a lot of dangers in this world."

"Like our friend the Wicked Witch of the West."

"Excuse me?"

"Brown hair," Bae said, "yay high," he gestured to a point just below how tall he was, "dressed in black."

"Cora?"

"Yeah, her," August said. "She's in the book."

"Henry's book?"

"Yeah."

"You worked on it?"

"Bae and I both. It's been our long-running project for twenty-eight years."

"Mostly mine," Bae said, "since somebody who shall remain nameless liked to use whatever funds we got to go to the weirdest of places. Where were you last, before Storybrooke? Phuket?"

"Shut up," Mulan said. "If you're coming with us, we need to go. Now." She walked past D, August, and Bae, and the three, now joined by Aurora, Snow, and Emma, fell in behind her.


	6. Setting Out Again

Setting Out Again

Tinker Bell opened her eyes and rushed out of the room she rented at the local bed and breakfast. When she reached the harbor, she asked the nearest sailor about Captain Hook. The sailor shook his wide-eyed head and turned to leave. She grabbed him by the collar and turned him to face me. "Listen to me, you scurvy dog. I need to speak to the captain. Now," she hissed. "So you better tell me where he is, or there's a sea monster out there with your name on it. Krackens make pirates look like saints."

"I-I haven't s-s-seen him, I swear, but...but his crew, th-they said he, he went for a drink," the sailor said. "He's...in town, yeah, I think that's it. He's in town."

Tink released him. "Thank you." The sailor ran off down the quay. Tink returned to the town at the same speed she left it, and she burst into the diner. No Hook. She retreated and started to think. "Where would I go if I wanted a drink in this town? No, scratch that. Where would I go to hide from the rest of the world to drink off the loss of my brother? Oh, goddamn you, Captain Hook."

She ran off down the street.

OUAT

Finally, Tinker Bell checked the last place in town she could look: the Well. Hook leaned against it, swilling gin and tonic. "There you are," she said. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Why?" the captain asked. Then he threw back another shot.

"Because something is very, very wrong. Jas, the trod system here, thepart of it between here and Kansas, it's down."

"What's so special about Kansas?"

"Doesn't matter. What matters is that part is down and there's no way of knowing what's going on, but I think the people in it, at least Bae and August, are trapped in another world somewhere." She knelt in front of him. "Do you remember Bae? Do you remember how he didn't give up on your brother and how good that was for Jasper?"

"Couldn't forget."

"Well, Bae's not in this world, and this world needs someone like him right now. Now, are you going to let your brother rest knowing you could've been that person and weren't?"

"Why do you need me?"

"Because we need to get everyone in this town out. Something evil is coming."

OUAT

Morraine spotted the blue flash of light in the sky and the figures that fell out of it, and she ran toward them, but when she reached what she guessed was the landing site, they were gone. But the tracks were fresh, so they couldn't have gone far. She put her hands to her mouth and whistled.

OUAT

"Stop," Mulan said when she heard the sound. She turned toward it and whistled a reply.

"Who're you whistling to?" Emma replied.

"The commander."

"I thought that was Lancelot," Snow said.

"No. The commander manages the military and defensive matters of the haven. Everything else was left to Lancelot-Cora. I keep forgetting."

"We all do," Emma said.

The whistle came again, and again Mulan responded. A woman stepped out of the foliage. Emma raised her brow but nodded, but Aurora remained surprised. "Is the haven led by women?" she asked.

"Yes," the woman said. She looked at Bae and rushed toward him, pulling him into a hug before he could respond properly.

"You two know each other?" Emma asked.

"Duh," the commander said, turning toward them. "Since we were in swaddling clothes."

"Damm near," Bae added. "Shall I introduce you?" he asked her in a low voice.

"Save it. Now's not the time." She turned to the newcomers and asked, "Do they know a way back there?"

"That's what they say," Mulan said.

"They fell out of a vortex. They can't say much that isn't true when it comes to interdimensional travel. Where're they going?"

"We're trying to find a yellow brick road," the woman in the tan jacket said. Her hand rested on the head of the hell hound. "Well, I am. They lead me to wherever I need to go."

"Well, it's going to be a long walk. I've had to figure out how to defend the haven against a lot of things, each worse than the last, so things are about to get interesting. Move out." She turned and led the group deeper into the woods.

OUAT

Bae fell into step beside Morraine and asked, "How are you?"

"I'm good," she replied.

"I see you've done well for yourself."

"I'm just trying to keep them safe."

"From what?"

"Wraiths, ogres, giants, whatever else comes our way."

"Because you figured that's what Rumpelstiltskin intended in saving this portion from the curse?"

"Yes."

"Where did he take you?"

"Neverland."

"How was it?"

She took a deep breath. "He, the boy, was terrible, just like...just like..." She exhaled again. "Just like Hordor."

"Peter Pan?" Morraine nodded. "He hurt you?"

"But I was saved," she whispered, casting her eyes skyward. "I was saved."

"Who saved you?"

"Pan's fairy accomplice, actually a fellow captive. Tinker Bell. She led me to Hook, and Hook trained me until I could be dropped off here, just before the curse was cast. He was taken by it, I'm sure, because that was the last time I saw him alive."

"He's in Storybrooke now."

"There. That's what I thought."

"There's a Ring around Storybrooke. That's why we're here. Actually, we're on our way to Storybrooke but got sent here by our lovely friend Cora."

"Cora? Bae, how did she get there?"

"She was in the trods. No telling where she is now." Morraine all but tore the tie out of her hair and ran her hand through the locks. "You're troubled."

"That's an understatement. The people over there are in danger."

"Is there anyone over there that you trust to get them to safety?"

"I only hope she realizes the problem."

"Your friend?" Morraine nodded. "I'm sure she does, otherwise you wouldn't trust her."

"How do you know that?"

"Because you wouldn't let anyone else handle the lives of others. I think you even tried to manage my life a little bit. Granted, I did need you."

"You did, and you're right. I can't trust anyone but me and mine with the safety of others. That's part of how I took the job of managing the defense of the haven."

Bae nodded. "I wouldn't trust anyone else with the job, either."

Morraine smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem. You know I mean every word." She gave him a playful slug on the shoulder, and they both laughed.

"There," D said, rushing past them both toward a clearing.

"What?" Morraine asked.

"She probably sees a yellow brick road," Bae said. "That means possibly a way there."

"Ah. Let's go, then."


	7. Another Yellow Brick Road

Another Yellow Brick Road

"Smee," Hook said when he spotted his red-hatted boatswain in the streets of Storybrooke.

"Yes, sir?" Smee replied.

"I want all hands on deck and the ship ready for a passenger voyage."

"How many, sir?"

"As many as we can fit on that vessel. We have to get everyone out of here as swiftly and efficiently as possible. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Get going." Smee gave a haphazard salute and walked in the direction of the harbor. Hook walked into the diner and asked Red at the table, "Who leads this town?"

"Check the police station," Red replied. "You'll find him there."

"Thank you. Muster whoever you can nonetheless. Something wicked this way comes and the sea is the only known way out of this town." Red nodded and followed the captain out the door.

Hook found the police station rather easily and entered to find the gentleman known as Prince Charming trying to organize the men and women there. "What?" Charming asked.

"We have to evacuate the town," Hook said. "A very dangerous evil is coming, and we have reason to believe it's coming here."

"Is it Regina?"

"Worse, I fear."

"Worse? What could be worse?"

"Try Cora," Regina said, appearing, white-faced and haggard, in the doorway.

"You felt it, too, I see," Hook said. "And it troubles you as much as it does us."

"Yes."

"Then I strongly suggest," the captain said as he stepped forward, "that you come with us."

"Them first."

A pause, then, "As you wish." Hook bowed softly. Then he turned to Charming. "Are you going to sit on your arse or are you going to get moving?"

OUAT

D glanced back at everyone else following her on what they more than likely took to be an imaginary path through the woods, and she said, "Trust me." Then she continued down the yellow brick road as it appeared to her.

"Where does this path you see lead?" Mulan asked.

"I don't know, but these things usually lead to trods, which will lead us back to Storybrooke."

"You sure?"

"Yep, positive."

"So, we're not just wandering aimlessly into a very dangerous forest?" Snow asked.

"We're wandering, but we're not aimless." Toto trotted up to her, and she scratched his ears. She cast her eyes skyward, attracted by the movement of a black spot among the clouds. What she found was several black spots.

"What're those?" Emma asked.

The spots emitted a bone-chilling screech. "Flying monkeys," D managed.

"Flying monkeys?"

Snow nocked an arrow and stepped between Emma and the approaching monkeys. Toto positioned himself between D and the monkeys as they descended. D reached for her belt, spent a moment finding a dagger, and stood as ready as she could be, facing an object of fear and terror from her childhood. A monkey flew toward Toto, who all but swallowed it whole, and another replaced it. D drove the dagger into its head and shook its corpse off. Snow shot a monkey in the eye and another in the arm. Mulan decapitated this one.

Bae glanced at August and then focused on one of the monkeys. It blew up in a hail of blood and pieces. "Not bad," August said, making nothing of punching yet another monkey.

"They're everywhere," Bae said.

"That's their way," D replied.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Morraine asked Bae.

"I didn't exactly learn," Bae replied. "The only trick I was actually taught was how to light a candle. I've been guesstimating ever since."

"You seem to be doing well at it."

"Well, thank you."

When most of the monkeys' attention was focused on D's travel companions, she stepped up behind them, Toto beside her. The last time she did anything like this, it had been an accident and she a girl of fifteen, and she'd forgotten how she did it, until Bae's display of magical power reminded her. She stretched out her shoulders and flicked her wrists, sending the monkeys careening uncontrollably to the four winds. The rest of the group recovered from the shock and stared at her as they straightened. "A trick I learned," she said by way of explanation. "C'mon, before they come back." They walked down the yellow brick road only D could see.

"Are you sure this woman's not crazy?" Aurora asked.

"No," Emma replied, "but we're trapped here with few other options. At least she's on our sie." Aurora bit her lip and looked askance at Emma, but she nodded nonetheless.

OUAT

The sun moved low in the western sky before a trod opened to the group. The road was now visible to all, and Aurora said, "Oh, she's right."

"From now on, you should have no problem seeing it, in or out of the trod system," D said.

"That's not going to matter if we're attacked by flying monkeys again," Emma said.

"They can't get in here. The Wicked Witch, though, that's another matter."

"Wicked Witch is accurate."

D smirked. "I like you."

"Uh, thanks, I think."

"Still trying to stop me, I see," said a voice.


	8. Cora

Cora

Regina walked to the edge of Storybrooke and stared down the road at the forests of Maine surrounding the town. Rumpelstiltskin stood next to her and looked like he'd been there for some time, but she didn't look at him. "You know," she said after a long moment, "lately I've been think it would be a blessing. To cross. To forget."

"Be my guest, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin replied.

"I didn't know you were so willing to get rid of me."

"I didn't know you were so willing to get rid of yourself. After all, I didn't bring up the idea of crossing intentionally to erase your memories."

"I said I've been thinking it would be a blessing. I didn't say I was actually going to do it, and actually, I'm not planning to. I'm...waiting for someone."

"Oh, what a coincidence. Me, too."

Regina glanced at him but said nothing for want of knowledge on how to proceed. Rumpelstiltskin was content to let her stand with him at the border, so long as they both got what they wanted out of the arrangement.

OUAT

Snow stepped between Emma and Cora, and Toto rushed up to her, positioned himself between her and the group, and started to bark. "Oh, really?" Cora asked. "How's your bite?" She waved a hand, and Toto dove for it. She jerked back just in time to save her thumb, though it earned her a scratch down the side of it from one of the hell hound's teeth. "Hardly impressive," she said. The cut healed itself as if by a miracle.

D glanced at Bae and August and gave an almost imperceptable nod. "Go time," August whispered to Bae. Bae nodded and made his way to D. Snow and Mulan both drew weapons, and Aurora drew her dagger, though she stood behind them. Morraine stood next to Bae, somewhat before August. Cora scanned the rearrangement with a dubious expression.

D steppped forward and took a position next to Toto, her hand between his shoulder blades. "I see you're still trying to get to our world," D said.

"What's so wrong with that?"

"Where do you want me to start?"

"You people are always so critical." Cora fired an energy ball, which D easily deflected into the side of the tunnel.

OUAT

"So, we can't defeat this woman with mundane means, right?" Emma whispered to Snow.

"Right," Snow replied.

"So, what do we do?"

"We start getting people back to Storybrooke. The fewer people trapped in a tunnel with this crazy lady, the better." Emma nodded, and they gestured to Mulan, Aurora, and Morraine. The three of them nodded in agreement to their plan, and they began to migrate down the yellow brick road.

OUAT

Cora looked over Bae's and D's shoulders, said, "Don't leave just yet," and prepared to fire another energy blast. August tackled both Bae and D before Cora could fire, though the blast grazed his back and burned a long, comet-shaped hole in his shirt.

"You two better go," August said.

"What? Are you crazy?" Bae asked.

"You bet your ass I am." He pushed D and Bae out from under him and away from the witch. "Go."

"Au-"

"No," D said, grabbing Bae's upper arm. "This tunnel goes if we stay here much longer." Bae glanced at August before following D and Toto down the road.

Cora walked over to August and brought him up so that he faced her. His head was tilted back, and, if not for the fact that he felt like he was being choked, he would've fought his way free. "Now," Cora said, "what can you tell me about those friends of yours?"


	9. The Journey

The Journey

Bae, D, and Toto caught up with the five who slipped away several minutes prior, and Bae said, "August's still back there."

"So, what do we do?" Emma asked. "We can't just leave him there with that...that..."

"We can't stay there, either. The longer we stay, the more unstable a given trod becomes," D said. "We have to keep moving."

"So what do we do?"

"The best we can do is keep going. As long as the tunnel is stable, he can hold out for a lot longer than if we let it fail."

"So you expect us to leave him there."

"Yes, Emma," Snow said.

Emma blinked, nodded, and said, "Alright, let's go."

OUAT

Morraine and Bae fell into step behind everyone else, and she took one glance at his hands before saying, "You scratched yourself in your nervousness."

"Oh, I did?" Bae asked, examining his hands for a brief moment before satisfying his curiosity and lowering them again. "I guess I did."

"You sound distracted. You're thinking about your friend August, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. I can't just leave him there. He could die."

Morraine smiled. "You're just the same," she said. "You're still brave and selfless, always trying to save even the most lost of causes. That's what I like you so much, you know."

"I, um, I know this sounds childish, but, you actually like me?"

"Yes." Bae grinned. "I see this news pleases you."

"I'd have let you know sooner, but with my home life at the time..."

"I understand. I'd have done the same to you in your position."

"When this is over, do you mind if I show you something from the world I now call home? It's a tradition of courtship, a small sequence of events. A couple goes to dinner at a place called a restaurant, to sound fancy, I guess, and after that, they go into a dark room with a bunch of other people and watch a series of moving, talking pictures."

"You have no idea how stupid you sound right now," Emma said over her shoulder.

"You try explaining a movie to someone who's not from your world."

"Is that the series of moving, talking pictures?" Morraine asked.

"Yes."

"Hmm. Dinner and a...movie?"

"Yes. That's exactly what it's called."

Morraine chuckled for a moment, then turned serious again. "What if you decided to stay on the other side, in the Enchanted Forest?"

"I don't know, but speaking of, why were the Frontlands saved?"

"It's a mystery, but my personal theory," she said in a low voice, "is that he meant for that to happen. He may have wanted you to have the choice, if you wanted to return home or not. Or he may have wanted us to have a place to go should we need it for whatever reason."

"What reason was he thinking of?"

Morraine shrugged. "I haven't a clue. That's part of the reason why I'm leaning toward my first theory."

"But there's magic in both worlds now, and my power scares me to death sometimes."

"Have you told him?"

"Yes."

"Then he would've told you that you are brave and good."

"Yes."

"He would've meant every word, just as I would've, because I'd have told you the same thing."

"Thank you."

"We're here," D said. "Stay close." The trod opened, and she and Toto stepped out, followed closely by Emma, Mulan, Aurora, Snow, Morraine, and finally, Bae, only after he spared a quick glance over his shoulder for August before crossing over into the real world.


	10. Desperate Stand

Desperate Stand

"Tell me about your friends," Cora said again.

"What's there to say?" August asked by way of reply. She threw him down the tunnel and approached slowly.

"How about, where they're going, or what they're doing, or, better yet, what they're doing here? Surely you can tell me any of those, at least." She picked him up again.

"You honestly think I'm going to sell any of them out, let alone all of them? That's funny, Cora. That's really funny." Cora tossed him down the road again. August stood. "That's hilarious. You should consider stand-up comedy."

"Shut up."

"Don't stop me now. I think I'm on to something."

"Then you're obviously lying."

"Why, when the truth is more effective?"

"What're you stalling for, anyway?"

August paused, then said, "Guess."

Cora grabbed him by the jaw. "Where are they?" she hissed.

"How the hell should I know? I'm just as lost as you are."

"Where are they going?"

"This is one of the parts where I do my best not to sell them out."

"Oh, I see how this is." She sent him flying down the brick road one more time.

"We can't keep this up much longer," he said to himself. He got to his feet and took off away from Cora.

OUAT

"When they say we're going to Storybrooke, they're not kidding," Emma said, looking around at the deserted buildings in the center of town.

"It was the safest way," D replied.

"They must've evacuated the town," Mulan said, also scanning the buildings. "Why?"

"Well, I can think of several reasons. Want a list?"

"I'd rather not."

Bae looked at the space the trod used to occupy. The vortex appeared, and August stepped out. "She's coming," he said.

"I kind of figured that," Bae replied.

"You're not seriously going to stay here, are you?"

"Not here, here. I might go looking for my dad."

"Okay."

"And you're coming with me."

"What?"

"I'm not letting you stay behind, play hero, and die because of it."

"Ouch."

"I'm serious, August. Now, are you coming or not?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Yes."

"Sorry I'm late," a dishevelled and bleeding Captain Hook said, screwing on his hook and attracting the attention of everyone present. "Traffic was beastly."

"I can see that," Bae said.

"I see the two lovely ladies have returned, and to the other lovely newcomers, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Storybrooke." He bowed to the group as a whole. "It's not always this way, and I'm sure this isn't the best first impression we can make, but I'm afraid it's the best that can be done under the circumstances."

"We're not tourists," Mulan snapped.

Hook scoffed and said, "Well, then."

"Where's Tinker Bell?" Bae asked.

"Hiding somewhere, laying out some evil plan." Mulan raised her brow. "She's not evil in the traditional sense, but she is a little...mischevious."

"Are we going to stand here all night? Because to me that doesn't sound like a very good idea," Emma said.

"She's right," Bae said. "Who all hasn't left yet?"

"Regina, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother, the doctor, several others," Hook replied. "And those are the ones that insisted on staying. Why do you ask?"

"Because we won't have time to get them out, and we're going to need to fight. Now, if you'll excuse us," he began, and he led August away.

OUAT

"There you two are," Bae said. Rumpelstiltskin and Regina each turned at the waist toward him.

Regina approached. "What're you doing here."

"Making sure you're not dead."

"That's nonsense," another speaker said. "I have something much worse in store."

"You," Regina snarled at her mother, stepping between Bae and August and approaching her.

"Why are you so angry? All I did was try to give you a good life," Cora said.

"Where have I heard that one before?" Bae asked with a smirk.

"You shut up," she said, glaring at him and keeping her voice low and condescending.

"This is my world," Regina said. "You have no power here, and you're not welcome."

"What're you going to do about it?" August pulled Bae aside. Regina snapped her fingers, and branches from nearby trees reached for Cora. Cora waved her hands behind her, and the trees caught fire.

"August, cover me," Bae whispered. August paused and stared at Bae as he walked over to Rumpelstiltskin and whispered to him. Rumpelstiltskin even seemed to agree on a logical level with whatever Bae was saying, and that made August even more uneasy.

"Think it can be done?" Rumpelstiltskin whispered to his son. Bae nodded, and they stepped up to where Regina stood. She glanced at them, and Rumpelstiltskin nodded. She looked at him, and he nodded again. Finally, at his nonverbal insistence, she turned her gaze back to Cora.

Bae stepped up to Regina's other side, and August stood next to him, at some distance. "How come you people always have to arrange yourselves?" Cora asked.

"This arrangement has a purpose," Rumpelstiltskin said. "It's an old form, so I'm not surprised that you don't recognize it."

"What are you talking about?"

Bae glanced for the briefest moment at his father and said, "This." He called up his power. Rumpelstiltskin and eventually Regina did likewise, and the energy, having nowhere to go but out, burst from whatever boundaries were laid forth. August ducked and stumbled to the side, and Cora flew backward, between the burning trees.

"Oh, you won't get away with that," Cora snarled.

"This is it," Bae said when he saw the energy blast coming. He held up his hands for a block. Again, the energy rushed off harmlessly to parts unknown.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" August asked.

"Got a better plan?"

"Yeah." August watched another blast from the approaching witch. "Play the hero." He had just positioned himself in front of Bae when the spell came in with enough force to knock all four of them for several feet.

Cora smirked and turned back toward the town.


	11. The Taking of Storybrooke

The Taking of Storybrooke

Bae pushed August off him and ran to where his father lay, barely conscious. "Papa," he said. "Papa."

Rumpelstiltskin blinked and wrinkled his brow. "Who're you?"

Bae stood and stepped back. "I'll explain later. I promise." He turned to August, stood inches from his nose, and snarled, "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I could save your lives," August replied. "What's wrong with that?"

"They have no lives now. They just lost their memories. That's what's wrong with that."

"Do you think I planned this?"

"I think you don't plan anything, and that's why we're in so much trouble, and God damn me for going along with it." He turned his back to August so swiftly the latter was stunned. Bae walked over to the two now-amnesiacs and offered them his hands. Once they were on their feet, he said, "I know where you two can stay. It's quaint, not very roomy, but cheap, and you can hide there for a while."

"Why do we need to hide?" Regina asked.

"Because I highly suspect people are going to be pissed when they find you again."

"Why?"

Bae smiled to himself. "Almost everyone is convinced that the two of you are evil."

"I don't...feel evil," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"Neither do I," Regina added.

"Well, I won't pass judgement on your character. My job is to get you settled in and keep you safe until you get your memories back, however we accomplish that."

"You mean you don't know?"

Bae stopped and turned toward them. "No, I don't know. I'm not the expert. I don't even have a college education. I don't know how to get your memories back."

"How come the fact that you don't have a college education disturbs me?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

Bae sighed and turned again. "Let's go."

OUAT

As soon as Cora appeared in Storybrooke proper, the remaining citizens bolted themselves inside their businesses or homes. Hook watched from an alley as she breezed through town and surveyed it, and then he spotted Tinker Bell in an abandoned building opposite him. On a whim, he started toward her. She held up a hand to stop him, glanced at Cora, and then slipped out through the window, managing to squeeze between two planks. She landed as soflty as possible and made her way across the street. "Thank God," she breathed when she reached him.

"Very much agreed," he replied. "So, what do we do now?"

"There's a haven, on the other side. If we get there, we might be safe."

"Might?"

"Beats our chances here."

Hook nodded. "This is true. How do we get there, though?"

"We need to reach our portal jumper friends, D especially. She'll know who to call for what."

"You know her?"

"I heard about her. Blue was Glinda."

"Excuse me?"

"Ask D about it. Her story's much better than the book, and heads and shoulders above the movie." Hook nodded complacently. "You didn't understand that, did you?"

"Nope."

"Well, the more time you spend in this world, the more you learn to talk the talk."

"Ah."

Tink leaned in toward the street, Hook close to her, and after a moment, they looked at each other. She straightened; now they stood inches from each other. With his hook, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Jas..."

"Shh, it's best if we don't speak right now." She gave him a quick peck on the lips. He blinked and then kissed her, softly and quietly, and when he pulled away, she smiled at him.

She stood on tiptoe and whispered, "Let's start planning."

"Yes, let's."

OUAT

Bae walked from the bed and breakfast where he had managed to, after almost an hour of negotiation, house the amnesiacs Rumpelstiltskin and Regina. He needed to maintain Rumpelstiltskin's properties (mostly the cabin and mansion in town), and more importantly, he needed to find a way to restore his father's and Regina's memories. The way it was described to him, it sounded too final, the memory erasure, and he certainly had the impression that it could only be undone by magic, if it could be undone at all.

He glanced at the woman walking into Regina's manor and judged that Cora was here to stay. He slipped inside Rumpelstiltskin's place and closed the door behind him. The lower floor was dark.


End file.
